Leonor Teles

Leonor Teles was born in 1992 in Vila Franca de Xira, graduated in Cinema from the Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema in 2013 and has a Master's degree in Audiovisual and Multimedia from the Escola Superior de Comunicação Social in 2015.
In 2016, "Balada de um Batráquio", her first short film, won the Golden Bear for Best Short Film at the Berlinale 2016, the Firebird Award for Best Short Film at the Hong Kong Film Festival and had its commercial premiere in Portugal.

Agnes Meng

Agnes Meng, born in Beijing in 1991, is a documentary filmmaker based in Portugal. She graduated from the “DocNomads” Joint Masters and is a candidate for a PhD in Media Arts at the Lusófona University of Lisbon. Agnes has a background in cinema, journalism and anthropology; she worked as an ethnographic research assistant in southwestern China and the Tibet region. At present its focus is cinema, folklore and the preservation of intangible cultural heritage.

Pedro Cabeleira

Pedro Cabeleira was born in 1992 in Entroncamento. In 2013 he graduated in cinema (direction) at the Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema. His school short film, “Estranhamento” was screened at Fantasporto, La Cabina, Caminhos do Cinema Português and Shortcutz Lisboa.
His first feature film of 2017, “Verão Danado”, premiered in Locarno, where it received a special mention in the Filmmakers of the Present section, and was shown in Mar del Plata, Turin and Cannes.

Denise Fernandes

Denise Fernandes was born in Lisbon in 1990 to parents of Cape Verdean origin and was raised
in Switzerland. During her training at EICTV, the International Film School of Cuba, she made the short films “Pan Sin Mermelada” (2012) and “Idyllium” (2013).
Her latest short film, ”Nha Mila” (2020), had its world premiere at the Locarno International Film Festival.

Edgar Morais

Edgar Morais is a director, actor and screenwriter. His films as a director have been shown at multiple festivals around the world such as PÖFF Shorts, Palm Springs ShortFest, Hamptons IFF, Maryland Film Festival, ISFF Detmold, FEST Espinho, IndieLisboa, Castrovillari, Woodstock, Tirana, Dresden and Rio de Janeiro. He's directed several music videos for bands like MOTHXR and the Grammy-nominated Shiny Toy.

Fatema Abdoolcarim

Indian, Pakistani and Hong Kong, Fatema Abdoolcarim is a director and screenwriter. With a background in photography, she is self-taught in using DSLR cameras and voice. Her directorial debut was with the documentary-essay “Heidi” (2016), made in a directing workshop with Abbas Kiarostami, premiered in Locarno, screened at Sundance and at the ZINEBI festival and won the award for Best Debut Film at the Cinalfama Festival in Lisbon.

Florence Rochat

After studying literature and cinema at the Sorbonne-Nouvelle, Florence Rochat dedicated herself to writing and directing. She developed several short film projects, including “Poupées de Chair”, which she co-directed with Serena Robin, a film acquired by Canal+ and selected for 80 festivals around the world, including Clermont Ferrand. The film also won the 1st Timers award at the Cinalfama Festival in 2023.

João Paulo Maria

João Paulo Miranda Maria was born in the interior of the state of SP/Brazil in 1982. He studied cinema in Rio de Janeiro and a Masters in Multimedia at UNICAMP. Influenced by his research, João Paulo founds the collective Kino-Olho and matures his style, which he calls «Cinema Caipira». In December 2015, he filmed his first short film “Command Action” at the Cannes Film Festival Critics' Week.

Kaveh Mazaheri

A highly respected figure in Iran's New Wave of independent filmmakers, Kaveh Mazaheri is admired for his unique style, profound narratives and meticulous portrayal of complex human relationships. He has made six fictional short films and more than twenty documentaries. One of his films is “Retouch”, which won more than 80 awards and three distinctions at Oscar-Qualifying festivals such as Tribeca, Krakow and Palm Springs in 2017.

João Gomes

Her first feature film “Natália, A Diva Tragicómica” (2011) is a remarkable documentary produced for RTP2 where all her films were shown. João has degrees in Sociology and Cinema as well as a Master's degree in Cinematographic Project Development, completed with honors at the Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema de Lisboa, for the film “A Noite De Santo António” (Vigo, Blow Up Chicago and many others selections around the world).

Gabriela Nemésio Nobre

Gabriela graduated from Escola Artística António Arroio with a double secondary education diploma in Graphic Design. She obtained a degree in Art History from Universidade Nova de Lisboa and at the age of 20, she moved to London, where she graduated with Distinction in her master's degree in Filmmaking at the London Film School.

Ely Chevillot

After studying Mathematics at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, in Belgium, Ely Chevillot went to study Film Directing at the Institut des Arts de Diffusion in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. She finished her course with the short film The Elusive (Ce qui échappe), selected for 60 festivals and multi-awarded around the world.

Marta Andrade

Born in 1991, Marta studied directing at the Higher School of Theater and Cinema (ESTC), and finished her degree at FAMU in Prague. She studied animation for a year at the Atelier de Sèvres, in Paris, and also completed her master's degree in Animation at the Royal College of Art in London. “Come to Me”, her first film, was selected for festivals around the world, and her final year film “The Village Game” was shortlisted for a BAFTA nomination in the student film category.

Diogo Figueira

Diogo is a screenwriter, playwright and producer. After graduating from the Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema in 2013, he co-wrote the short “By Flávio” (Berlinale), the two seasons of the series “Três Mulheres”, nominated for PRIX Europa and the SPA Awards, and “ O Labirinto da Saudade”, winner of the Sophia Prize for Best Documentary. In 2020 he was selected for the Cannes Series Unlimited residency.

Joana Niza Braga

Born in 1992, Joana studied Sound for Cinema at the Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema de Lisboa. She worked as a sound designer for the film “Balada de um Batráquio” by Leonor Teles, which was awarded the Golden Bear at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival. Joana works at the post-production studio Loudness Films, having edited the sound in the films Terra Franca by Leonor Teles and Variações by João Maia, for which she received the Sophia award from the Portuguese Cinema Academy.

João Lisboa

Graduated in Musical Composition from the National Conservatory of Music in Lisbon. João is a music critic who has written for Jornal Expresso since 1984, and occasionally for other publications such as Jornal de Letras, Público and Blitz. Collaborations with renowned institutions such as the Cinemateca Portuguesa, the Frankfurt Book Fair, the Ministry of Culture, the short film festival Curtas de Vila do Conde, WOMEX/World Music Exhibition/Berlin, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and many others.